MB Update - 1/27/07

Dearest Friends and Family,

Hoping this e-mail finds you warm and well!

This e-mail is a true, Mary-Beth-style (i.e. long and wordy) update to share a few of the latest exciting things that have (or rather will be?) going on in my life. If you're aren't interested or don't have time, please hit delete! I will never know, and it wouldn't bother me even if I did know! :-) For those of you who I have not had a chance to talk to in awhile and who would like to know what's new in my life, please read on!

As many of you know, I am a senior in college this year and will be finishing up my bachelor's degree in animal sciences and minor in disabilities studies this June. (Yippeee!) The obvious question following this information is... what's next? It seems that graduating from college is not so much the end of something big, scary, exciting, good, bad, and mysterious, but rather the beginning!

Upon my graduation from The Ohio State University, I plan to spend about a month at home, spending precious time with my family and friends, sleeping in, working, and just enjoying the life and time I've been given. In addition, I will be busy packing and preparing for a very new and exciting adventure! Through a unique set of circumstances, I feel I have been "called" to go to Belgium to spend three months this summer living with and helping care for an amazing lady who has been largely paralyzed from the neck down for five years. We have known this family for as long as I can remember. They are amazing! It will be a great privilege to be in their home serving them. I feel that this opportunity is something I may never have the chance to do again, and am very excited about the multitude of things I will learn and gain from the experience. What I'm not so excited about is the thought of being an ocean away from my friends and family, and for three months! This is an experience unlike anything I've ever done before, and I'm just a little bit scared! Nevertheless, my fears are overcome by a long and strong list of reasons why I am doing this, not to mention the many "confirmations" I have received while considering, praying about, and discussing this with friends and family. If all the plans continue smoothly, I will be leaving for Brussels, Belgium in early July, and plan to arrive home in early October of this year.

Obviously, my thoughts for the future are subject to change, but if things progress as I imagine them to right now, I will come home in October and spend another couple months getting settled back at home, spending precious time with friends and family, working, etc. (and maybe getting another CCI puppy to raise and train?!) And then in January, 2008, I will begin graduate school at The Ohio State University to pursue a Master's degree in Animals Science.

I've shared with you some of my current thoughts, plans, and dreams about my future, but I can't leave out yet another possibility for my life... the unknown! As Proverbs 19:21 from the Bible says: Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails. I am very excited about the opportunities God has opened up for my future, but also realize that it's important to be content with where I'm at right now and live and enjoy each day for the gift that it is, not counting on anything to be a "guarantee" for my future. At this point I am not too concerned about "figuring out" what my future might hold. In a way, I am actually excited about the great mysteriousness and necessary trust in God that not knowing leaves and requires!

Thank you all for your continuous support, encouragement, and love! How blessed I am to have you in my life!

I hope you all have a wonderful day (and week!). Please feel free to e-mail me to let me know how YOU are doing!!! I love hearing from you guys!


~ Mary Beth